It was a memorable weekend for Connacht golf at Athlone Golf Club as Claremorris and Gort claimed their first AIG Pierce Purcell Shield and Women’s Intermediate Foursomes Championships respectively.
Gort claimed victory in the Women’s Intermediate Foursomes.
AIG All-Ireland Inter-Club Semi Finals & Finals, Athlone Golf Club, Roscommon 13/9/2025
Gort Team
Mandatory Credit ©INPHO/James Lawlor
Having eased past Monkstown 3.5–0.5 in Friday’s semi-final, they maintained that form against Munster West champions, Ballyneety in the final.
Petra O’Connor and Sinead Collins set the tone with a 6&5 win, before Joan Fogarty and Sara Broderick quickly doubled the advantage by taking their match 7&5.
Jane Joyce and Geraldine Connors then secured the half point needed, shaking hands on the 14th green to confirm victory and a first AIG Women’s Intermediate Foursomes title for the Galway club.
“We weren’t expecting to get this far but it’s absolutely fantastic for our team,” said Gort team captain Hannah McInerney.
“We’re just thrilled and very proud of this team. They put a lot of teamwork and dedication into it.”
“We have some very seasoned golfers that would be used to match play and then we have a few golfers that are new to golf. One of the women in our first match is two years playing golf so a nice mix.”
Team Captain Hannah McInerney spoke to John Mulligan on Saturday Sport.
If that was not enough, Claremorris won the Pierce Purcell Shield.
Having reached Saturday’s decider after edging out Munster East representatives Tramore 2.5–1.5 in Friday’s semi-final. In the final they faced Cushendall and carried the momentum of that narrow win into the contest as they made a fast start, leading in all four matches thru the opening nine holes.
Enda Gurren and Brian Burke delivered the first point with a 5&4 win in the top match, while Rossa Higgins and John Finn followed up with a 4&3 victory in the anchor match to put Claremorris on the brink.
With just a half point required, Michael Lohan and Martin Murphy held their nerve to go 1up through 17 and secure the title, leaving the Mayo club to celebrate their first success in the Pierce Purcell Shield.
“We started this campaign five months ago and we did give it a good fist, but we never thought we’d be standing here, winning this pennant. It’s the best feeling in the world because there’s a lot of work and a lot of effort gone into this,” said Claremorris team captain Derek Reilly.
“We played in one 12 years ago, and we lost it, and we haven’t been in the final since. It’s great to come up this year and get to it and win it and tick that box.
“It is huge for such a small club. We’re surrounded by clubs like Ballinrobe and Castlebar who have won this before and we kind of felt a bit left out, but we’ve proven this year that we are a club to be reckoned with and let’s hope this can drive the club on now for the future and we can win more at All-Ireland level.”
AIG All-Ireland Inter-Club Semi Finals & Finals, Athlone Golf Club, Roscommon 13/9/2025
Claremorris team
Mandatory Credit ©INPHO/James Lawlor
View the final scoring here
